SprossvsSprossenConfusable pair

Which to use

“Spross” and “Sprossen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#36,034
“Spross” frequency rank
#43,509
“Sprossen” frequency rank
79543
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Spross Sprossen
Definition junger Trieb an einer Pflanze, neu wachsender Teil einer Pflanze Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Sprosse

Where the eye mixes Spross and Sprossen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Spross runs 6 letters (CCCVCC) against Sprossen's 8 (CCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Spross
8 ch
Sprossen

Visual trap between Spross and Sprossen

A purely visual mix-up. Spross ([ʃpʁɔs]) and Sprossen ([ˈʃpʁɔsn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Spross” sits inside “Sprossen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79543, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Spross is recorded at frequency rank #36,034, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃpʁɔs]. Sprossen is at rank #43,509, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpʁɔsn̩].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 79543, this pair ranks #214,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Spross vs Sprossen

Shared letters: oprs. Private to "Spross": -. Private to "Sprossen": en.

"Spross" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC  ·  "Sprossen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spross ← psross · sporss · sppross · spros · sproß · sprross · sprsos · srposs
  • Sprossen ← psrossen · sporssen · spprossen · sprosen · sprosesn · sprossenn · sprossne · sproßen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Spross" and "Sprossen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃpʁɔs] versus [ˈʃpʁɔsn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Spross" or "Sprossen" show up more?
"Spross" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,034 in our German list, against #43,509 for "Sprossen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Spross" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Sprossen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #214,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Spross" and "Sprossen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sprossen vs stressen". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #214,287 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list